Tribal

How to spell tribal

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce tribal

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does tribal mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to a tribe or to the customs, identity, and loyalties of one.

Tribal in a sentence

• The museum exhibit traced ancient tribal migrations across the region.

• She studied the tribal councils that governed the area before colonial rule.

Where does tribal come from?

Language of origin: Latin

The word comes from the Latin tribus, which named one of the original divisions of the Roman people; the early Romans were traditionally grouped into three of these units, and many scholars connect the term to tres meaning 'three'. From tribus Latin formed the adjective tribalis, meaning 'of or relating to a tribe', and that is the direct ancestor of the English word. English adopted 'tribal' in the early 1600s, building on the noun 'tribe' that had already arrived through Old French earlier in the medieval period. The same tribus root quietly survives in everyday words such as 'tribute', a payment once owed by a tribe, and 'tribune', a Roman official who represented the people. Spelling 'tribal' is straightforward because the trap people expect, a doubled consonant or an extra vowel, simply is not there: it is the plain stem 'trib' plus the familiar '-al' ending.

How the word is built

• trib- (from Latin tribus: tribe, one of the original divisions of the Roman people)
• -al (adjective suffix)